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ABE WON’T BE SILENT - After the Holocaust, the world needed a catchphrase—something simple yet powerful, a way to reassure itself that lessons had been learned. Too many people had turned a blind eye for too long, and so, Never Again happened.
It became a vow, a moral boundary, a declaration to keep history from veering off the road into another disaster. For this post, I’d like to address the never part of ‘never again”.
My mother--the pearl spewer--in all her wisdom and a Holocaust survivor, had her own philosophy: “Never say never,” she’d tell us. “The greatest swimmer can drown.” She knew something most people don’t—never is subjective. It gives us the illusion of certainty, a false comfort. But the truth is, the world is always one bad election, one economic collapse, or one viral conspiracy theory away from forgetting every lesson it swore it had learned.
[SIDEBAR] A little history lesson for you self-hating Jews, like the ones at The New York Times—the same paper that buried news of Nazi atrocities in the back pages until it became impossible to ignore. It wasn’t until November 1942 that they finally moved the Holocaust coverage to the front page, and even then, they underreported the full horror of what was happening.
Worse yet, the Times publisher at the time, Arthur Hays Sulzberger—himself Jewish—made the conscious decision to actively downplay Jewish suffering. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the American Council for Judaism, an organization that opposed Zionism. Now you know.
I grew up hearing Never Again as gospel—outside our home. It was recited at memorials, printed on pamphlets, and engraved in stone. But let’s be real—how’s that working out for us? Read The New York Times lately? Not great.
When Jews are attacked in the streets, when antisemitism is tolerated—dressed up as activism, no less—when so-called human rights advocates suddenly go mute when it comes to Jewish suffering, I have to say: Never Again my ass!
Because if we’re being honest, Never Again has become more of a branding exercise than a binding agreement. Jewish organizations, Holocaust museums, and various charities claim to be “fighting antisemitism,” yet the statistics on incidents of antisemitic violent attacks continues to rise. This year we have hit the lottery of hate crimes since the October 7 war was started by Hamas, those violent Islamist schmucks who have chosen to end their regime. You’ll see.
Lest we not forget the infamous Nazis marching in Charlottesville in 2017, chanting, “Jews will not replace us.” Yup, right here in what we used to call “The good old USA.” As many of you know, that moment changed my life. It was the wake-up call I desperately needed and the birth of my darling “Won’t Be Silent” community.
[SIDEBAR] And at the risk of sounding bitchy—we Jews have no interest in replacing you—you low-rent, mad-white, trailer-trash low-lives. Ahhhh…onward.
Never Again makes people feel politically correct, which is precisely why I have disdain for the lip service it purports. It’s a rallying cry for politicians who suddenly remember Jews exist—when it’s time for fundraising. It has become a meaningless bumper sticker. Either we strike it from our lips or put our money, strength, and energy where our mouths are and fight back. Yes, fight like the Jews did in Judea, our ancestral homeland, that for some God-forsaken reason we are being forced to still fight for. Don’t even get me started. Back to never land--not the ranch.
My mother’s warning—never say never—wasn’t just about history. It was about survival. It was about understanding that certainty is a luxury Jews can’t afford. The greatest swimmer can drown. The world can forget. The unimaginable can happen again…is happening. Open your eyes people. Especially you self-hating Jews—the new Kapos marching in lock step with pro-Hamas Islamists who will throw you onto a train so fast you won’t know what hit you. That or get thrown off a roof. Yes, these are the options.
[SIDEBAR] Another example of never, I’ve seen firsthand how the word can backfire. In addiction recovery, for example, saying never again can be paralyzing. My ex-boyfriend—who wasn’t in AA—once said, “I think it’s too much pressure to start your day with saying ‘I am never—as in the case of never having a drink again.’” And, as annoying as it was to admit, he was right. The weight of never is often too much to carry. Moderation—for me—was the better word to handle life on life’s terms.
And maybe that’s the real problem with Never Again. It sounds powerful, but it lets people off the hook. It allows them to believe that words matter and by saying it over and over again, it will not only ring true but will somehow stop history from repeating itself. My point is words matter to a point when the mattering words are never again.
My mom—rest her hilarious soul—knew better. She knew survival isn’t about declarations—it’s about vigilance. It’s about refusing to be lulled into false security. It’s about get up and getting on with life as she did after the degradation of Dachau.
So, maybe it’s time to stop treating Never Again as a mic-drop moment and start treating the sentiment as a call to action. If we’re waiting for the world to honor those words for us, we’re screwed. Our future is now. The Jewish Future is now.
I’m running for World Zionist Congress part of The Jewish Future Slate. Please vote for me today. Click here .
(ABE GURKO is the executive producer of a documentary “LOUDER: The Soundtrack of Change,” about the extraordinary Women of Protest Music streaming on MAX. He's an Opinionator who hosts a podcast, "Won't Be Silent," engaging in conversations from the edge of democracy. Abe is a contributor to CityWatchLA.com. [email protected].)
